Antique and beautiful, Hunchback ( gobbo ) Italian lucky charm talisman.

Antique and beautiful, Hunchback ( gobbo ) Italian lucky charm talisman.

In Italy these are traditionally worn to protect against 'the evil eye', but nowadays they are worn all over the world as a lovely piece of jewellery!

The Hunchback made of red Mediterranean Coral carved with a gold mounting.

Material: Red Mediterranean Coral, gold
Weight: 2,2 gr.

Italy ( Sicily ) early 1800s

Size 2.7 cm

The Gobbo:  A Lucky “Hunchback”

First thing’s first.  Referring to a person as a “hunchback” is not polite.  The medical term for this condition is kyphosis. The House of Good Fortune is merely describing a cultural practice, not advocating for it.

The phenomenon we will explore is part of a broader historical belief that those with certain physical deformities (e.g. dwarfism, kyphosis, spinal curvature or crossed eyes) either had supernatural powers or could bring good luck/repel bad luck. This belief was actually quite widespread among ancient cultures and persisted until the modern era.

In ancient Rome and Greece, many people believed that rubbing the “hump” of a “hunchback” would bring good luck.  People with kyphosis and other physical abnormalities were also thought to be able to divert the “evil eye”